At a glance

Official Name:
Republic of Indonesia

Capital:
Jakarta

Population:
237,512,355 (July 2008 est.)  

Languages:
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (the most widely spoken is Javanese)

Religion:
Muslim 86.1%,
Protestant 5.7%,
Roman Catholic 3%,
Hindu 1.8%,
other or unspecified 3.4%
(2000 census)

Life Expectancy:
Male: 68
Female: 73

Currency:
Indonesian rupiah (IDR)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity):
$837.8 billion (2007 est.)

National Holidays:
January 1, New Year’s Day;
January 10, Islamic New Year;
February 7, Chinese New Year;
March 7, Hari Raya Nyepi;
March 20, Prophet Muhammad's Birthday;
March 21, Good Friday;
May 1, Ascension Day;
May 20, Waisak;
July 30, Isra Mi'raz;
August 17, Indonesian Independence Day;
October 1 and 2, Idul Fitri (End of the Fasting month);
December 25, Christmas;
December 29, Idul Adha.

Industries:
Petroleum refining, steel, and cement

Indonesia

Indonesia, also known as the Republic of Indonesia, is located in Southeast Asia. Comprising of 17,508 Islands it is the world’s largest archipelagic state and shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is the fourth most populated country in the world with a population of 222 million reported in 2007. Indonesia also has the largest Muslim heritage, even though it is not officially an Islamic state. Indonesia is a republic, providing them with an elected parliament and a president. The capital city of Indonesia is Jakarta. The islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945, and Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender. Current issues include: alleviating poverty, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing financial sector reforms, stemming corruption, holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations, and controlling avian influenza. Indonesia continues to face a low intensity separatist movement in Papua.